Tom Sturridge has won the lead in Thomas Vinterberg's forthcoming adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd. The project, from studio Fox Searchlight, will be the Festen director's English language debut. Carey Mulligan and Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts – who made his name on Rust & Bone – co-star.

Far From the Madding Crowd focuses on the consequences of a young woman's relationship with three men at the same time. The 1874 novel has previously been adapted for cinema three times, including a notable 1967 version starring Julie Christie and Terrance Stamp .